Jointed toy figure



Sept. 29, 1925.

R. GROVE JOINTED TOY FIGURE Filed Feb. z', 1923 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 540mm Rene D. Grove.

Sept. 29, 1925. 1,555,661

R. D. GROVE JOINTED TOY FIGURE Filed Feb 5, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

RENElD. GROVE, F MIDDLEITOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

Application filed February-3, 1923. Serial No. 616,724.

To all w/wmit may concern:

nBe itaknown that :I, RENE D. .Gnovn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Middletown, in the county of Dauphin and Sta-tenor" Pennsylvania, have invented certain newand usefulImprovementsin J ointed Toy Figures, of which the following is a specification, referencebeinghad to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates i to toy figures, and particularly to jointed figures.

The object of theiinvention istog'provide a figure of thischaracter having a body, llIllbSvZLDCl head,the.limbs being formed of sections elastically connected to each other and to the body in such manner that the sections of the limbs may be turned into .a plurality ofsangular relations to each other and {to the body, 1th-ehead being also ;so elastically connected to the bodythat it may be ,turned into aplurality 1 of angular relations to the body.

-;A further object is to-provide a construe tion of the vcharacter justdescribed wherein the sections ofthe lin bs arenot only shifta-ble intoangularrelations to each other and the bodybutgrotatable with relation to the axis: ofithesections, and wherein the head is flikewise rotatable with relation-toits axis as well as angularlysadjustable.

,Still anotherobjectiis'to provide a con struction ofthisch-aracter wherein the figure comprises a body, legs, arms andfeet, the legszand arms being formed gof ,a :plu-

85 rality of sections elastically connectedto'the body byeelastic membersextending through the axes ofsaid sections whereby the sections may be turned into angular relation to eachiother-and to thebod-y and-also ro- 40 tatedaround said; axes.

.A :further object in this 1 connection j is to providefla'figure having a body and ahead elastically. connected to the body and aid- =justable into angular *relation to the body 4- and also rotatively adjustable around the axis of the head, the head supporting the similitude of a hat \VhlChllSfllkQWlSG adjustable into angular relation'to the axisaof the head and-into a plurality of positions.

Still another object is to provide a vfigure toy of this character so fformed-thatit will maintain its equilibrium when the arms,,-legs HIIClfOthBI :partsare adjnste'dinto a lange numberotdilferent positions.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein .Figurel is a perspective View ofa figure constructedin accordance with my invention butshowing the elastic connecting members 11,21: and 26 as being stretched so that the sections ofwhioh the figureis composed are separated Figure 2 is a vertical fragmentary sectional View throughthe figure taken transversely thereof and showing the elastic members stretched andthe parts separated;

Figure 8 is atransverse fragmentarysed tional View through the figure,ishowing.the manner in which the legsuare held to the body;

Figure aiis a sectionaon the line of Figure 3;

Figure his a perspective View of a-series of these toy figures, showing the different positions which the figures may take;

Figure v6 isza perspective View showing further positions of which the figures are capable;

Referring to these drawings, ,and particularlyto Figures 1 to 4, 10designatesithe body 0f the toy which, as illustrated, is cubical inform andmay be of wood,though it might be-made of any other suitable material. Extending transversely-and loosely through the upper portion of the body an elastic cord llhaving its ends. projecting beyondthesides of the body 10. The-{arms .of the figure are formed of a plurality of sections, the sections being illustrated as two in number-and des gnated 12 and 131espectively. Each section 12 is preferably square in orossisection and each sectionhas divergently inclined endsl l. The forearm ofthe figure is formed by the section 13.

This section has its upper end ;adj acent the end ofthe arm at right angles tothe axis of the section, but itslower end is inclined L0-tl16 axis of the section soas to abut against the inclined face 14. The elastic eeord 11 passes through the axes of the sections 12 and 13 of the armand througha Eblock 15 which constitutes thehand of the figure. This block is oblong in form and the elastic cord 11 passes through this block and is attachedfthereto inany suitableman- 'ner.

Preferably the bore through which the elastic cord passes is disposed nearer one end of the block than the other so as to give the block, when turned, the general similitude of a hand.

Each leg of the figure is also constructed preferably of two sections 16 and 17, each of these sections being square or rectangular in cross section. These leg sections 16 and 17 both have their opposite end faces disposed at an inclination to the longitudinal axis of the section, and abutting against the under end face of the lowermost section 17 is a foot section 18 which is composed of a block of wood oblong in form. The lower end of the body 10 is formed with a transverse, relatively deep kerf or groove 19 (see Fig. 3) which opens upon the side faces of the body at the lower end thereof and extends upward from the lower end of the body. Intersecting this groove 19 are two grooves or kerfs 20 which open upon the under end of the body. An elastic cord 21 is initially disposed within the kerf 19 against the bottom thereof and then a wedge 22 is driven into the kerf 19, this wedge being equal to the distance between the kerfs 20. This wedge holds the middle portion of the cord 21 in place. The ends of the elastic cord 21 extend axially through the sections 16 and 17 and through the foot section 18 and the end of the cord at the foot section is knotted and disposed in a recess on the under face of the section just as the cord 1l is knotted at its extremity and disposed in a recess in the under face of the hand section 15.

It will be seenthat by this construction the cord 21 may extend out through the ends of the kerf 19 or the ends of the cord may be extended through the kerfs 20, these kerfs 20 extending from the front to the back of the figure. Thus the legs of the figure may be disposed to extend downward from the lower end of the body or extend forward from the body, laterally from the body, or rearward from the body.- The sections composing these legs may be turned with relation to each other. Thus, for instance, the

sections 16 and 17 may be so turned that the axial center of the legs extends downward and outward from the central vertical axis of the body, or the upper section 16 may extend downward and outward, while the lower section may extend downward and inward, downward and rearward, or downward and forward. Likewise the upper section may be turned so as to extend'downward and rearward, downward and forward, or downward and laterally in either direction. Each leg is, of course, entirely independent of the other leg so that the legs may be caused to assume almost any position they would take in nature. The feet rest firmly upon the ground and, of course, may be turned so that the foot extends rearward, laterally or forward as desired at any angle. If the ends of the cord 21 are disposed to pass through the ends of the kerf 19, then the legs will be disposed so that they will extend more or less horizontally laterally in opposite directions or one leg may extend horizontally rearward and the other leg horizontally forward, or both legs may be extended forward or both rearward.

The arms composed of the sections 12 and 13, while they do not have the same extent of movement as the legs, have sufficient movement so that they can be placed in positions very analogous to the positions taken by the human arm. Thus, for instance, the sections 12 and 13 may be so turned that the section 12 extends downward, laterally and downward or laterally and forward, and the section 13 may be so turned with relation to the section 12 that the forearm of the figure will extend downward and forward, downward and laterally in line with the section 12, or downward parallel to the side face of the figure, or downward and rearward, and the hand sections 15 may be likewise turned so that the hand may extend in any desired direction. The two arms are, of course, independently adjustable with relation to each other and thus the arms may be disposed in very ludicrous and amusing positions which have a considerable similitude to life.

The head 23 is preferably formed of a four square block of wood or' like material, the upper end of which is kerfed preferably transversely, as at 24, and the upper lateral corners of the head are beveled off, as at 25. An elastic cord 26 is attached to the upper end of the body by placing the end of the cord in a hole in the body and then driving in a wedge 27 to hold the cord in place. This elastic cord passes freely through the head 23 and into a block 28 having the similitude of a hat and having a flat under face which can rest upon the upper end face of the head. The cord passes entirely through this block 28 and the upper end of the cord is knotted and disposed in a recess 29. Thus the hat may be shifted laterally across the head and when the hat is so shifted laterally it may be tilted so as to bear against the beveled face 25 and the hat will then be apparently supported on the side of the head in a cocked position.

Disposed between the head and the body is a neck section 80 which is formed of a relatively short block of wood, square in cross section, the under face of which is at right angles to the axis of the block, while its upper face 31 is beveled. The cord 26 passes loosely through this block. By turning the block around the axis formed by the cord, the beveled faces 31 will support the head in various positions where the axis of the head" is inclinedwith reference to the axis of the body. This; block 30 is pref-' crably painted white so as to simulate a collar and by this means the head may be tilted laterally, forwardly or backwardly.

The front of the block is, of course,

the figureare to be made of blocks having ends which are angular with relation to the longitudinal axis of the block. This applies to the blocks 12', 13,16 and 17, and the blocks 16 and 12 have their ends disposed in angular relation to the abutting face of.

the block 10 with which they come in contact so that these limbs sections, while they may be disposed in longitudinal alignment with each other, will always" be disposed in angular relation to the longitudinal axis of the body 10. This adds to the grotesqueness;

of the figure and to the ludicrous character of the positions taken by the arms andlegs.

Attention is also called to the fact that these angularfaces are equal to the cross sectional area of these leg and arm sections;

so that one member in all positions abuts firmly against the adjacent member and there is no opening up of the joint no matter in what angular relation the two adja cent sections are disposed to each other or disposed with relation to the body. Of course, inasmuch as the sections are rotatably mounted upon the connecting rubber band 11 or 21, the sections may be rotated with relation to each other and with relation to the body so that all sorts of positions may be taken by the arms, legs and feet. The collar section 30 being beveled upon one face and being rotatable round the central rubber band, may be disposed so as to incline the head in any direction and at any desired angle to the body, which adds much more to the expressiveness of the head. The hands and feet are formed of fiat blocks of wood and as a consequence one figure may be mounted upon the other, as illustrated in Figure 5 or Figure 6. This would not be the case unless such blocks were used for the hands and feet.

As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, these figures may be associated with each other and placed one either on the upraised hands of the lowermost figure or on the shoulders thereof, the top of the block being fiat so that the feet of one figure may be placed upon the shoulders of the subjacent figure.

While I have illustrated all of the sections of which the figure is composed as being rectangular in cross section, I do not wish to be limited to this as obviously the sections might be rounded or formed more closely tosimulatethe actual members of the human body. Neither dol wish to-limit myself to figures simulating human figures, asitis obvious that the sameprinciple-might be applied to the construction of figure toys simulating animals or birds, reptiles, fowl anc insects. It is obvious. that many changes might be made in the details of construction and arrangementof parts and the materials without departing from the spar-rt 0f the invention as defined in the appended? claims:

I claim 1. As; toy figure. comprising a body and ahead section, an elastic member anchored withintl'ie body and the head section and drawing said sections together, and aminetermediate section between the head and body having a bore through which tlieelas tic member passes and around which it is; rotatable, said intermediate; section having its upper and lower faces disposed at dif ferentangles to the axis of the sectionwhereby said intermediate member may be shifted to incline the head into variousranzgular relations to the body.

2. A toy figure including a body: rectan gul ar in' cross section, a head and limbs, each formed with a plurality of sections, elastic cords passing through the body? and axially through the sections of each limb and'el astically connecting the limb sections to the body, an elastic cord connecting the head section of the body, the head sections and limb sections being rotatively adjustable around the corresponding elastic cord, the limb sections being rectangular in cross section, the confronting end faces of certain of the limb sections and the faces of the limb sections confronting the body section being angular relative to the longitudinal axis of the limb sections, certain of the limb sections having end faces which are angular to the longitudinal axis of the section but convergent with relation to each other, the body at one end having transverse and longitudinally extending intersecting kerfs opening at their ends upon the faces of the body, the elastic cords extending from the intersection of the kerfs whereby the limb sections may be disposed in angular relation to any three of the adjacent faces of the body section.

3. A toy figure including a cubical body approximately rectangular in cross section, the lower end of the body being formed with a pair of kerfs extending from front to rear and a kerf extending transversely of the body, elastic cords extending from the intersections of the first named kerfs with the second named kerf, a plurality of leg secbody, each arm consisting of a pair of sections, the inner section having its end faces disposed in convergent relation and at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the section, the end section of each arm having its upper face at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the body and its lower face at right angles thereto, flat-faced blocks disposed at the ends of the end sections of the arms, an elastic cord passing through each of said blocks and passing through the sections of the corresponding arm and joining these sections to the body, flat-faced blocks disposed at the lower ends of the lower leg sections and connected to the said elastic cords of the leg sections, a head, a collar section disposed between the head and the body and having relatively converging end faces, an elastic cord passing through the collar and connecting the head to the. body, the head being rotatable upon said cord as an axis, the confronting faces of both the leg and arm sections being of duplicate size and cross section to thereby apparently maintain continuity of the surface of the limb sections in all rotative and angular adjustments of the limb sections.

4. A toy figure including a cubical body having a transverse bore adjacent its upper end and a vertical bore, the lower end of the body being provided with two kerfs extending'from front to rear and a single kerf e'xtending transversely and intersecting the first two kerfs, an elastic band passing transversely through the bore in the upper portion of the body, limb sections through which the band passes, the band being connected to the terminal intersections, certain of the limb sections having faces disposed at an angle greater than a right angle rela tive to the longitudinal axis of the section, a head having a transverse kerf upon its upper surface, a collar disposed beneath the head and having two upper and lower converging faces, a rubber band passing loosely through the collar and through the head, a'hat with which the elastic band is engaged, the head being formed with cut-off corners whereby the hat may be disposed at an angle, the elastic cord extending into said transverse kerf whereby the hat may be laterally shifted, an elastic band extending transversely through the single kerf in the lower portion of the body, means holding the middle of this elastic band from movement, a plurality of leg sections through which the elastic cord axially passes, the leg sections having their end faces disposed at an angle less than a right angle to the axis of the section, the ends of the elastic band being shiftable into either of the kerfs.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

RENE D. GROVE. 

